5.3 Jurats and Verifications

What a Jurat Is

A jurat — Latin for "he or she swears" — is the certificate confirming that a signer took an oath or affirmation and signed the record in front of the notary. Under Colorado's RULONA the act is formally titled a verification on oath or affirmation. C.R.S. 24-21-505 requires the notary to determine from personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence that the individual appearing has the identity claimed and that the signature on the verified statement is theirs.

A jurat differs from an acknowledgment in two decisive ways that the exam tests repeatedly: (1) the signer must take an oath or affirmation, and (2) the signer must sign the record in the notary's presence. There is no such thing as a "pre-signed jurat." If the signer arrives with the affidavit already signed, the notary should have them re-sign during the act.

Jurat vs. Acknowledgment Requirements

Reading the Document to Pick the Right Certificate

Colorado notaries may NOT decide for the signer which act a document needs, but they must recognize the wording. Pre-printed certificate language is the clearest signal.

If the document has no pre-printed certificate, the notary must ask the signer what act is required, because RULONA prohibits the notary from giving the legal advice of choosing it.

Step-by-Step Jurat Procedure

1. The signer personally appears.
2. Verify identity by personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence.
3. Administer the oath or affirmation aloud; receive an audible response.
4. Watch the signer sign the record in your presence.
5. Complete the "subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me" certificate.
6. Apply the official stamp, sign, and record the act in the journal.

What the Jurat Certificate Must Contain

A complete Colorado jurat certificate states the venue ("State of Colorado, County of ___"), the date, the words "subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me" together with the signer's name, and the notary's signature, printed name, commission number, and commission expiration date, followed by the official stamp. The phrase "or affirmed" is built into the standard certificate precisely so that a single form works whether the declarant swore or affirmed. Leaving the venue blank, omitting the date, or failing to identify the signer by name are the recordkeeping defects most often cited when a jurat is later challenged.

The notary must complete every blank — a partially filled certificate is treated as not performed.

Worked Example

A tenant needs an affidavit of residency for a court filing. The document is titled "Affidavit" and ends "Subscribed and sworn to before me." That wording dictates a jurat. You verify the tenant's passport, administer the affirmation she requests, watch her sign, then complete the certificate. Had she handed you the affidavit already signed, you would ask her to sign again in your presence — a jurat cannot rest on a pre-signed document.

The Two Required Acts Inside Every Jurat

A jurat is the only common notarial act that bundles two distinct acts together. First, the notary administers an oath or affirmation (the verification component). Second, the notary witnesses the signature (the subscription component). Both must occur, in that logical order, before the certificate is completed. Many candidates lose points by remembering only one half. The certificate phrase "subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me" literally encodes both: "subscribed" = signed in your presence, and "sworn to (or affirmed)" = the oath or affirmation was administered.

If either step is missing, the verification is incomplete even if the certificate is filled in.

Self-Proving Affidavits and Court Documents

A frequent real-world jurat is the self-proving affidavit attached to a will, in which the testator and witnesses swear before the notary so the will can be admitted to probate without later witness testimony. These follow the standard jurat rules: identity verified, oath or affirmation administered aloud, signatures made in the notary's presence. Court-filed documents — interrogatory answers, verified complaints, and depositions — likewise require a jurat because the filer is testifying to truth under penalty of perjury.

The notary should never "upgrade" an acknowledgment-style deed to a jurat or "downgrade" an affidavit to an acknowledgment; the document's own certificate language controls.

Common Traps

• Accepting a pre-signed affidavit for a jurat — the signature must be made before you.
• Treating a jurat as if no oath were needed — the oath/affirmation is mandatory.
• Completing only one of the two required acts — both subscription and the oath/affirmation must occur.
• Choosing the certificate type for the signer — that is unauthorized legal advice; let the document wording or the signer decide.
• Confusing "subscribed and sworn to" (jurat) with "acknowledged before me" (acknowledgment) on the certificate.